Holy high expectations, Batman. Here are some of the phrases being thrown around about Chichester five-piece Hope Of The States. “Like Godspeed You! Black Emperor” (gorgeous, instrumental-based, violin-led apocalypse-rockers),.“Like…Trail of Dead” (gorgeous, song-based, guitar-led, er, apocalypse-rockers). And, not least: “First credible possible heirs to Radiohead”. Arooga!
Their debut certainly indicates where such het-up notions might have come from. The States’ sheer ambition is hugely appealing: the louche, take-your-time gorgeousness of their epic, multi-part songs; their long, brilliant Mercury Rev-meets-Sigur Ros violin-and-guitarscapes (courtesy of Sigur Ros producer Ken Thomas); and, er, the never-explained album-wide American Revolutionary War theme (viz songs called ‘George Washington’ and ‘1776’). But ultimately Hope Of The States are no more and certainly no less than an epic pop band in waiting. For all their eau-de-political-commentary song titles – like ‘Black Dollar Bills’, or the ‘Design For Life’ gallop of ‘The Red The White The Black The Blue’ – their lyrics are kept, for better or worse, safely on the vague side; as well, their melodies are closer to the easily-graphed, bring-‘em-home-to-meet-your-mother hummables of Doves or perhaps Coldplay circa Parachutes, wrapped in a Deserter’s Songs mantle, rather than the messy, ringing epiphanies of Trail Of Dead or wracked life-flashing-before-your-eyes arias of Godspeed. Mind you, as far as criticisms go, “they sound like early Coldplay via Mercury Rev” is a fairly fantastic one.
So it’s not art-rock; but it is big, big pop. They’re playing Oxegen. Go have a look.